Crown-support carrier

ABSTRACT

An improved multiple-article carrier of the crown-support type comprising a bottom panel, side wall panels, crown cover panels, elevation panels, a securing panel and a top panel. The improved carrier has formed in at least one crown cover panel a recessed tear-out handle means which is formed from a plurality of die cuts so that the handle can be recessed in the crown cover when the carrier is stacked on top of another carrier and can later be torn out of the crown support cover by the customer. A modification of the preferred embodiment teaches a similar carrier having formed in the central portion thereof at least one gripper means which allows the carrier to be gripped with the gripper means when stacking one carrier on top of another without having to tear out the handle means from the crown cover panel.

United States Patent [1 1 Graser 1 1 CROWN-SUPPORT CARRIER [75] Inventor: Earl J. Graser, Monroe, La.

[73] Assignee: Olinkraft, Inc., West Monroe, La.

[22] Filed: Mar. 20, 1973 21 Appl. No; 343,034

[52] U.S. Cl. n 206/153; 206/162; 206/199;

294/872 [51] Int. Cl. 866C 1/10; B65D 75/00 [58] Field of Search 206/140, 141, 143, 153,

206/158,]61, 192,194,162,163,168,199; 294/872, 224/45 AB, 45 BA; 229/52 13, 52

[ 1 Aug.5, 1975 3,281,180 10/1966 Spery 206/140 3,606,003 9/1971 Graser 206/153 3,722,945 3/1973 Wood 224/45 AB Primary Emmirwrwilliam 1, Price Assistant E.ruminerAllan N. Shoap [57] ABSTRACT An improved multiple-article carrier of the crownsupport type comprising a bottom panel, side wall panels, crown cover panels, elevation panels, a securing panel and a top panel. The improved carrier has formed in at least one crown cover panel a recessed tear-out handle means which is formed from a plurality of die cuts so that the handle can be recessed in the crown cover when the carrier is stacked on top of another carrier and can later be torn out of the crown support cover by the customer. A modification of the preferred embodiment teaches a similar carrier having formed in the central portion thereof at least one gripper means which allows the carrier to be gripped with the gripper means when stacking one carrier on top of another without having to tear out the handle means from the crown cover panel.

11 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAUB 5W5 SHEET FIG. 3 IZ-J PATENTEU 5W5 3,897, 873

sum 2 5 CROWN 36 A 40 M 53 COVER PANEL SIDE WALL L4 BOTTOM PANEL SIDE WALL PANEL m ELEVATION 24 j PANEL SECURING PANEL FIG. 2

CROWN-SUPPORT CARRIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to an improved multiple-article carrier and more particularly relates to an improved multiple-article carrier which may be formed from a single blank of sheet material and is designed for locking engagement with the crowns of the bottles carried in the carrier. The improved features of the subject carrier comprise new and novel handle means and/or gripper means formed in the carrier.

In the evolution of the crown-support carrier from its original design up to the present state of the art. it has been found that carriers of this type are usually stacked one on top of the other in an attractive display at the local supermarket or retail outlet. Prior art crownsupport carriers of the later vintage have provided gripper means in the form of holes formed through the central portion of the carrier by which the grocer or stock boy could grasp the carrier and stack it on top of other similar carriers in the display. It was thought that this gripper means would be sufficient also for use by the customer who could simply insert his fingers in the openings provided in the carrier and pick up the carrier and transport it to his homev This idea has now changed since it is now felt that this means of transporting the carrier, while possibly satisfactory for male customers, would not be entirely satisfactory for female customers especially those of the frail species that do not have a great amount of strength in their fingers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved multiple-article carrier of the crown support type which has a new and novel recessed tearout handle means formed in at least one crown cover panel by means of a plurality of die cuts. The new and novel carrier of the subject invention may also incorpo' rate the beforementioned gripper means in the central portion of the carrier as another embodiment of the preferred form of the invention.

For a chronological study of the development of the crown-support carrier in general reference should be made to the following US. Patents:

After reviewing the development of this type carrier as represented by these patents it should become readily apparent that the prior art carriers all generally have provided some handle means or means for carrying the multiple-article carrier but none of the prior art carriers allow several carriers to be stacked on top of each other while still providing a handle means for use by the female customer as beforementioned.

For example it should be noted that the two Gray pa tents, the Kruea patent, the Flamm patent. the Failor patent. the Toensmeier patent. and the Baker patent, all provide the more or less conventional handle means for carrying the multiple carrier which would be acceptable by the female customer but none of these carriers can be easily stacked one on top of each other in a store display since no provision is made in the carriers for such stacking. And in a similar manner the later developed carriers shown by the Randrup patent. and the four Graser patents. all provide the beforementioned gripper means in the form of centrally located holes which allows these carriers to be easily stacked but without providing the female customer with an easily used handle.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved crown-support carrier which has formed therein a recessed tear-out handle means which allows the carrier to be stacked one on top of another by the shopkeeper while allowing the handle to be torn out by the customer thereby providing an improved means for conveying the articles to the customers home.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and novel crown-support carrier wherein the recessed tear-out handle means is formed from a portion of one or both of the crown cover panels.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and novel crown-support carrier which has a new and novel recessed tear-out handle formed therein with improved cushioning means formed on the handle for cushioning the load of the carrier on the hand of the customer.

Still yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and novel crown-support carrier which has an improved recessed tear-out handle means formed therein with a folded central portion formed in the handle means which may be folded over to the other handle means to provide a still larger surface of contact for cushioning the hands of the customer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and novel crown-support carrier which has a new and novel recessed tear-out handle portion formed thereon in combination with at least one gripper means formed in the central portion of the carrier so that the carrier can be gripped by the stock boy when stacking the earriers in the store with the new and novel recessed tear out handle means being utilized by the customer for carrying the package to the customers home. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a review of the preferred embodiment of the invention and from a study of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical package of the crown-support type showing the new and novel recessed tear-out means after being torn out of the crown cover panels and ready for transport by the customer;

FIG. 2 is a plan view ofa unitary blank cut and scored in a manner necessary to the formation of the new and novel carrier shown in FIG. I; and

FIG. 3 is a partial end view of the package shown in FIG. 1 taken along lines 33 of FIG. I and showing the improved cushioning means formed on the recessed tear-out handle of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings there is shown the new and novel crown-support carrier of the invention generally by the numeral and comprises a bottom panel 12 hingedly attached to a pair of side wall panels 14 and 16 which are in turn hingedly attached to a pair of crown cover panels 18 and 20. The crown cover panels 18 and 20 are each hingedly attached to an elevation panel 22 and 24. The elevation panel 22 is hingedly attached to a top panel 26 while the elevation panel 24 is hingedly attached to a securing panel 28. For a more detailed reference to how the various panels are folded and interrelated reference should be made to the before-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3.698.550 issued Oct. 17, 1972 to Earl .l. Graser which shows a similar type carrier without the new anad novel recessed tear-out handle means formed therein.

The bottom panel has formed therein a plurality of apertures 30 which are formed as taught in the beforementioned Graser patent and which function to receive the necks of the bottles to be carried by the carrier and to retain the bottles in the package when the carrier is formed around the bottles. The crown cover panels 18 and 20 have formed therein the new and novel recessed tear-out handle means in the form of the handle 32 and 34 which is formed by means of the die cuts 36 and 38 which define the outer edges of the handles 32 and 34 whenever the handles are severed from the crown cover panels I8 and 20. While the embodiment shown in FIGS. and 2 of the drawing utilize two recessed tear-out handle means, it is within the spirit and scope of the invention that a single recessed handle means could be provided in either the crown cover panel 18 or the crown cover panel 20.

When the crown-support carrier is provided with either one or two handle means, it may be desirable to provide the handle means with a folded portion 40 and- /or 42 which may be formed by means of the longitudinal perforated scorelines 46 and/or 48. The folded portion 40 is formed in the general configuration shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings out of the handle opening 50 and/or 52.

When the folded portion 40 and/or 42 is formed in the recessed handle 32 and/or 34 it may be utilized to provide a cushioning effect at the line of contact of the hand of the customer by folding it back against the top portion 54 and/or the top portion 56 of the respective handles. Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings there is shown an end view which shows how the folded por- 40 and 42 may be utilized together whenever the carrier is formed with two handles 32 and 34. [n this embodiment the folded portion 40 may be folded vertically underneath and in juxtaposition to the folded portion 42 to provide a larger surface of contact for cushioning of the hand of the customer whenever the carrier is carried by the customer. This general type structure is shown in the US. Pat. No. 3,698,625 issued Oct. [7, [972 to Earl J. Graser but has been modified in the subject invention by utilizing substantially horizontal tabs in distinction to the inclined tabs taught in the Graser patent.

The crown-support carrier may or may not have formed in the bottom panel thereof one or more gripper means in the form of a hole 58 and/or a hole 60 which may be utilized in combination with associated openings 62, 64, 66 and 68. When the carrier 10 is constructed in this embodiment the holes 58 and/or 60 form a gripper means by which the stock boy may grip the carrier to aid him in removing it from the box in which it was packed and to aid him in stacking the carrier on other similar carriers. When formed in this manner the recessed tear-out handle of the carrier is left in tact in its folded down position and the appearance of the package is not diminished. Thereafter the pur chaser of the package can utilize either the gripper means 58 and/or 60 or the tear-out handle 32 and/or 34 to convey the package to its ultimate destination. The gripper means may be formed with one hole in the central portion of the package or may be formed with two holes, as shown in the preferred embodiment, or may be formed with more than the two holes depending upon the particular desires of the bottler. It is also conceivable that the gripper means may be formed by further indenting the openings 70 and 72 into the central portion of the package to allow the package to be grasped for example by the thumb and little finger of the hand. When formed in this manner corresponding cutouts would have to be provided in the top panel 26 and the securing panel 28.

From the above it can be seen that there has been provided a new and novel crown support carrier having a new and novel recessed tear-out handle means which allows the carrier to be stacked on top of a similar carrier and at the same time provides an acceptable handle for use by the most discriminating customer. The bandle may be formed in various ways and may be formed, as taught in the preferred embodiment, by die cutting it from the crown cover panel. The handle may also be formed by cutting it from two crown cover panels and may have cushioning means attached to the handle which may be utilized to cushion the fingers of the user against the weight of the packaged bottles as a comfort feature.

The new and novel crown-support carrier may also have provided in the central portion thereof gripper means for gripping the carrier to stack the carrier on top of a similar carrier with the gripper means also being available for utilization by the customer if he so desires.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that a new and novel crown-support carrier has been provided which accomplishes all of the objects and advantages of the invention. Nevertheless it is apparent that many changes in details of construction or arrangement of the various parts of the carrier may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims and the invention is not to be limited to the exact matter shown and described since only the preferred embodiments have been given by way of illustration only.

Having described the invention, 1 claim: 1. An improved crown support carrier for a plurality of objects comprising:

a. a bottom panel for receiving the plurality of obects; b. a pair of side wall panels hingedly connected to said bottom panel; c. a pair of crown cover panels, hinged connected to said side wall panels; d. a pair of substantially vertical elevation panels. hingedly connected to said crown cover panels;

e. a top panel and a securing panel each hingedly connected to a respective elevation panel and extending to the opposite elevation panel to restrain its motion;

. recessed handle means, formed from at least one crown cover panel and associated with the restrained elevation panel so that when said handle means is utilized. the weight of the objects is carried by the restrained elevation panels.

2. The carrier as defined in claim 1 wherein a recessed handle means is formed from a portion of both crown cover panel.

3. The carrier as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said recessed handle means has formed therein a central folded portion formed by means of a longitudinal scoreline for providing a cushioning effect at the line of hand contact when the carrier is carried by the customer thereby cushioning the load of the carrier on the hand of the customer.

4. The carrier as defined in claim 3 wherein the central folded portion of one handle is injuxtaposition with the folded portion of the other handle thereby providing larger surfaces of contact for cushioning the hand of the customer whenever the carrier is carried by the customer.

5. The carrier as defined in claim 2 wherein at least one gripper means is provided in the central portion of the carrier so that the carrier can be gripped by the gripper means when stacking one carrier on top of another carrier without tearing out the handle means from the crown cover panel.

6. The carrier as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said recessed handle means has formed thereon a folded portion formed by means of a longitudinal scoreline in the handle for folding back against the bandle to provide a cushioning effect at the line of hand contact when the carrier is carrier by the customer thereby cushioning the load of the carrier on the hand of the customer.

7. The carrier as defined in claim 6 wherein the folded portion of one handle is folded to be in juxtaposition with the folded portion of the other handle to thereby provide a larger surface of contact for cushioning the hand of the customer when the carrier is carried.

8. The carrier as defined in claim 1 wherein said recessed handle means has formed thereon a folded portion by means of a longitudinal scoreline in the handle for folding back against the handle to provide a cusioning effect at the line of hand Contact when the carrier is carried by the customer thereby cushioning the load on the carrier on the hand of the customer.

9. The carrier as defined in claim I wherein gripper means are provided in the central portion of the carrier so that the carrier can be gripped by the gripper means when stacking on carrier or top of another carrier without tearing out the handle means from the crown cover panel.

10. The carrier as defined in claim 9 wherein said gripper means comprises at least one hole formed in the bottom panel and at least one associated opening formed in the securing panel and in the top panel.

ll. The carrier as defined in claim 9 wherein said gripper means comprises at least two holes formed in the bottom panel and at least two associated openings formed in the securing panel and in the top panel. 

1. An improved crown support carrier for a plurality of objects comprising: a. a bottom panel for receiving the plurality of objects; b. a pair of side wall panels hingedly connected to said bottom panel; c. a pair of crown cover panels, hinged connected to said side wall panels; d. a pair of substantially vertical elevation panels, hingedly connected to said crown cover panels; e. a top panel and a securing panel each hingedly connected to a respective elevation panel and extending to the opposite elevation panel to restrain its motion; f. recessed handle means, formed from at least one crown cover panel and associated with the restrained elevation panel so that when said handle means is utilized, the weight of the objects is carried by the restrained elevation panels.
 2. The carrier as defined in claim 1 wherein a recessed handle means is formed from a portion of both crown cover panel.
 3. The carrier as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said recessed handle means has formed therein a central folded portion formed by means of a longitudinal scoreline for providing a cushioning effect at the line of hand contact when the carrier is carried by the customer thereby cushioning the load of the carrier on the hand of the customer.
 4. The carrier as defined in claim 3 wherein the central folded portion of one handle is in juxtaposition with the folded portion of the other handle thereby providing larger surfaces of contact for cushioning the hand of the customer whenever the carrier is carried by the custOmer.
 5. The carrier as defined in claim 2 wherein at least one gripper means is provided in the central portion of the carrier so that the carrier can be gripped by the gripper means when stacking one carrier on top of another carrier without tearing out the handle means from the crown cover panel.
 6. The carrier as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said recessed handle means has formed thereon a folded portion formed by means of a longitudinal scoreline in the handle for folding back against the handle to provide a cushioning effect at the line of hand contact when the carrier is carrier by the customer thereby cushioning the load of the carrier on the hand of the customer.
 7. The carrier as defined in claim 6 wherein the folded portion of one handle is folded to be in juxtaposition with the folded portion of the other handle to thereby provide a larger surface of contact for cushioning the hand of the customer when the carrier is carried.
 8. The carrier as defined in claim 1 wherein said recessed handle means has formed thereon a folded portion by means of a longitudinal scoreline in the handle for folding back against the handle to provide a cusioning effect at the line of hand contact when the carrier is carried by the customer thereby cushioning the load on the carrier on the hand of the customer.
 9. The carrier as defined in claim 1 wherein gripper means are provided in the central portion of the carrier so that the carrier can be gripped by the gripper means when stacking on carrier or top of another carrier without tearing out the handle means from the crown cover panel.
 10. The carrier as defined in claim 9 wherein said gripper means comprises at least one hole formed in the bottom panel and at least one associated opening formed in the securing panel and in the top panel.
 11. The carrier as defined in claim 9 wherein said gripper means comprises at least two holes formed in the bottom panel and at least two associated openings formed in the securing panel and in the top panel. 